Construction should begin as the weather clears for a new restaurant in front of the Villa Bianca catering facility on Route 34.
Villa Bianca owner Tony Mavuli said the new restaurant, which will serve a combination of steaks and chops, won approval from the Seymour Zoning Board of Appeals in December.
Conditions included approval from the state Department of Transportation and the Naugatuck Valley Health District.
“He has met those conditions,” said Robert Looker, the town’s planning administrator.
Now, the way is clear for Mavuli’s “1757 Tavern” to be built.
“We will start building as soon as the weather allows,” Mavuli said Thursday. He is uncertain of the costs of the complete project, but the big question is when it will open.
“With construction you never know. We will try for the fall,” Mavuli said.
The restaurant is being made from the conversion of an old saltbox house on 318 Roosevelt Drive that is part of the property of his well-known catering facility.
He has owned the Villa Bianca 27 years.
Good food is one of his passions, as well as other aspects of the restaurant and catering business.
“I love people,” Mavuli said.
The home on the site is 2,000 sq. ft. and the renovation will add 2,220 sq. ft. to create the restaurant with wings on the left, right and back.
The restaurant will seat 113 with 21 additional seats in a lounge area.
New sidewalks and decks will be built along with a parking lot for 27 cars. The existing driveway will be moved south to gain better site distance and be lengthened to accommodate traffic.
